Tue, 11 Jul 2000

Poaching, cyanide fishing threaten Komodo National Park

By Mehru Jaffer

JAKARTA (JP): Once upon a time when man lived in complete harmony with the animals, a reptile queen named Putri Naga succumbed to the irresistible charms of Najo, a local fisherman. Soon the couple gave birth to twins, one of whom was a little boy and the other a dragon.

The origin of this legend may have been long forgotten but not the special bond between man and the unique Komodo dragon which has prevailed ever since. To this day the people of Komodo Island believe that if the dragon disappears from their island they will perish too.

Located between the island of Sumbawa and the island of Flores in the Lesser Sundas region, the home of the dragon lies in the center of the archipelago and is today a protected site. The Komodo National Park was established in 1977 and declared a World Heritage Site and a Man and Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations in 1991, with the main purpose of conserving the dragon and its natural habitat.

While conservationists were attempting to save the last remaining habitat of the Komodo dragon, they also discovered that the area has biodiversity of global significance. It harbors more than 1000 fish species, about 260 species of reef-building corals, sea turtles, manta rays and 14 species of whales and dolphins.

However, fishermen from other parts of the country constantly threaten the park's resources by using unsustainable fishing techniques like blasting, cyanide fishing and reef gleaning. Poaching for deer and wild buffalo, both important prey for the Komodo dragons, poses additional problems for the environment there.

For the past two decades, the Directorate General for Nature Conservation and Protection has implemented a variety of programs to enable the 1,817 km park, of which 603 km is land and 1,214 km sea, to survive for the benefit of those to come. The park includes the three large islands of Komodo, Rinca and Padar and many smaller islands, and also functions as a source of livelihood for the 3,300 people within the park and the approximately 17,000 people living around it, most of whom depend on squid fishing.

Extremely concerned at the rapid devastation taking place, the directorate five years ago invited The Nature Conservancy (TNC), a U.S. based non-governmental organization,to lend assistance. And along with the TNC came Rili Djohani.

Born of Indonesian parents in Holland, Rili arrived in Indonesia without knowing a word of Bahasa.

"I was not returning in search of my roots. I just looked upon the assignment as a good job offer," Rili, director of the Indonesia Coastal and Marine Program, told The Jakarta Post.

A graduate of Leiden University, Rili recalls growing up in Holland just like other Dutch children. Hers was not a terribly ethnic family.

Although her mother did work at the Museum Nusantara in Delft where she was surrounded by Indonesian art and culture, there was never any pressure on the children to adopt Indonesian ways and their interest in Indonesian language and culture remained very much academic. The family even communicated with each other in Dutch.

Rili's first love was nature and biology, specializing in rainforests and coral reefs. But Indonesia was still faraway from her thoughts as she did her field research on the islands of the Netherlands Antilles and grew up watching wide-eyed the coral reef documentaries made by Jacques Cousteau, inventor of scuba diving equipment.

Her first introduction to Indonesia was an assignment with the World Wild Life Fund here almost a decade ago. Today she looks back on that job as her karma to return to where she really belongs. She can't imagine living anywhere else but here, especially as she finds her job immensely rewarding.

"There is so much to do here and the thought that we can make even a little bit of difference makes the work all the more meaningful," she says.

The latest feather in her cap is the enthusiastic acceptance of TNC's 25-year management plan for the Komodo National Park that includes a comprehensive strategy for enforcement, awareness, alternative livelihood projects and monitoring.

What thrills Rili most is the active participation of local communities and the local government in this long-term plan which is expected to help to identify and address emerging threats. The hope is that eventually the Komodo National Park will serve as a model for other protected areas in a country that is the world's fourth most populous nation and largest archipelago.

One of the richest genetic storehouses on earth, Indonesia's reefs and rainforests are home to 35 percent of all fish species and 17 percent of all terrestrial species. Unfortunately, the country also has the world's longest list of species threatened with extinction, including 126 birds, 63 mammals and 21 reptiles.

Nearly half of Asia's remaining rainforests are found here and the challenge is to manage in a meaningful manner all the areas that are declared protected. Of course, the most important task of all is ensuring that man never lives to see the tragic day when he is forced to separate from his beloved twin brother, the Komodo dragon.